


Up a Tree

by raptor_moon



Category: Primeval
Genre: F/M, Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-25
Updated: 2012-03-25
Packaged: 2017-11-02 11:50:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/368696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raptor_moon/pseuds/raptor_moon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How did an injured Connor manage to get up that cretaceous tree?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Up a Tree

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is essentially the insertion of a scene that I felt was missing in Episode 10 during Season 3. Written during its unexpected "cancellation" post season 3.

“Are you ok?” saving his breath, Conner nodded at Abby as she continued, “We just need to find somewhere safe and then we can find Danny in the morning”

“Yeah,” he agreed quickly, as they limped on. Abby found her thoughts straying from the situation at hand.

Conner was just a wimpy geek, or was he. He had freely admitted that he thought he might have broken his ankle, or at least had a bad sprain. Yet, he hiked alongside her in relative silence, not moaning or complaining. Ok, he said ow every few steps, but he kept walking. Granted, he wouldn’t be walking on it if it was broken, but it was obvious it pained him. He looked pale, and was sweating even though it wasn’t that hot. And he was breathing fast as though they had been running, even though they weren’t going fast. After all the time they had spent running from dinosaurs, she knew he was in better shape then this. She wondered if he was hurt worse then he let on after the fall from the tree. He was unconscious for an awfully long time and…

“Abby…Abby…ABBY!” it took Conner three tries to get her attention.

“Sorry, Conn…What is it?”

“I’m sorry, I’ve just got to rest a moment” he said breathlessly as he slumped against a tree and slid heavily to the ground.

“I just want to make sure we are out of the raptor’s territory. We need to find a safe place to rest for the night.” Now that they were stopped, she took a moment to look directly into Conner’s eyes…were his pupils always that large and bright, or were his pupils dilated. It wasn’t dark yet. Did he have a concussion? Abby feared Conner going into shock. She needed a chance to let him rest and try to see how badly hurt he was, not that there was much she could do, trapped in the past as they were. She didn’t think they even had a simple first aid kit, so she wasn’t sure what she could do to help him, but she couldn’t lose him. She wasn’t sure how she could cope in the Cretaceous without him; she knew she would never make it home alone. And she was starting to realize she really wouldn’t want to. Her thoughts were interrupted by his staring into the canopy of the tree.

“Abby, what’s that?” She followed his gaze upward. It looked like a bird’s nest, albeit quite a bit larger than normal.

“Conner, what passes for a bird in this time period, and how likely is it to eat me if I go near its nest?”

“Why would you go near its nest?” Conner asked perplexed, not following her train of thought.

“A nest in a tree could give us shelter for the night, safe from most predators.”

“Abby, I could never climb that tree on a good day, let alone now, with a bum ankle.” He paused, and then continued, “but you should be safe up there. The arboreal Pterosaurs tended to be relatively small.” His voice tapered off as he saw the quirk of a smile and a determined look set on her face. Tall and straight, its few low branches were spaced well apart. Conner wondered how Abby would get up there, but he never doubted her ability to do so. He knew he was slowing her down, putting her at risk. He didn’t particularly want to become dino-chow, but as his head and ankle throbbed in unison and it even hurt to breathe deeply, he figured it might not be so bad, if it helped keep Abby alive.

Abby paused a moment to think, then started digging into the rucksack Becker had given them. She wanted to jump for joy when she saw the length of rope in the bag. It looked to be about 50 or 60 meters of good climbing rope and a couple of carabiners. Even better was the discovery of a small saw, obviously designed for cutting branches for shelter building.

She looked at Conner’s strained face, paler than usual. It was time for action. “Ok, Connor. Rest for a while, I have an idea.” 

Abby faced the tree. Tall and straight it looked almost impossible to climb, but she had once learned how to climb a palm tree so she could study geckos while on a trip to India, and this tree’s bark wasn’t nearly that smooth. And on closer examination she could see the branches that would be within her reach, if she were a bit taller. Slow and steady, find a foothold, apply pressure with your hands, push up with you legs, repeat. As she made her way upward, she started thinking about what she would need to create a platform big enough for both of them to be able to rest tonight without fear of falling. Once she was about 20 feet high, she found an appropriate crook and branch set-up in the tree and started to cut branches and build a sort of platform/nest contraption. She added additional branches in a canopy overhead, just in case they got any rain, and to block some wind. If Conner was going into shock, she wouldn’t be able to light a fire to keep him warm. This was the best she could provide. 

“Conner, CONNER!” Abby panicked when he did not immediately answer. She knew she needed his help to get him up the tree. Hoping he had just dozed off, she dropped a pinecone on his head.

“Ouch! Hey, Abby watch it up there will you. I …” his sentence trailed off as a rope fell down in front of his face.

“Tie the rucksacks to the rope so I can pull them up.” 

Conner did as requested, tied the first bag to the rope and suddenly felt lonely as he realized Abby wasn’t coming back down. It would be a long night, at least until one of the nocturnal hunters claimed him. The rope came down again for the second bag. No, he shook his head, and then stopped as the world swam around him. He knew Abby wouldn’t leave him down here alone. She would insist he try to climb the tree or she would stay down here with him, which even with a fire wouldn’t likely be safe. So he had to try. He struggled into a standing position as the rope came down a third time. “Abby, there were only 2 bags. Danny still has the third bag with him”

“I know that. Now it’s your turn. Slip your arms through the loop and start climbing.”

“Abs, you can’t expect to pull me up.”

“Just start climbing.” Abby checked the rope. She had looped it around 2 upper branches and rigged a harness. She waited until she saw Conner grip the tree and then she stepped out onto the tree.

Conner was startled as he felt his body being pulled up. He looked up and realized Abby was using herself as a counterweight.

“You still have to climb Conner. But when you get tired or need to avoid putting weight on your bad ankle, I can keep you from falling.”

“That’s great.” Conner grabbed the tree and took his first step. His knee and ankle hurt when he put his weight on it, but he could stand on it with the rope’s support. He pulled with his hands, pushed up with his good leg and was up. One foot off the ground, now he had to find a foothold for his bad leg. As he stepped up again, he found that the new angle put more stress on the leg and he cried out involuntarily. 

“Conner, are you ok?” Abby called out to him, concern masking her voice.

“Fine,” His voice shook a little as he spoke. His bad leg shook a lot. But he had to keep climbing to keep Abby safe. Pull with hands, find new foothold for good leg, and push up, 2 feet up now. He kept repeating the process for 8 more steps and found he was face to face with Abby.

“Abby, as I go up, you go down…where it’s not safe!” Conner suddenly wanted to let go and let his weight pull her back up.

Abby looked at Conner. Pale, sweating from exertion, yet Conner was worried about her. She placed her hand on his for a moment. “Conner, I’ll just climb back up as soon as you are up.”

“Yeah, right.” Her touch sent a shiver up his spine that momentarily competed with the shaking of his leg. Stand on bad leg, pull with hands, find new foothold for good leg, and push up, 11 feet up now; repeat. For 6 more times he repeated the process. The seventh time his good leg slipped from its hold. As all of his weight fell on his bad leg, pain shot up the leg from ankle to thigh, the knee gave way and he fell. “Abby!” he cried.

Abby felt herself yanked upward and she lurched forward into the tree until she managed to regain her position and stop her ascent. “It’s ok, Conner. Just get your feet back on the tree and keep going.

Stand on bad leg, pull with hands, find new foothold for good leg, and push up, 17 feet up now; repeat. Three more times and he could see the platform. Two after that he could lay his torso across the platform. He lay panting across it, trying to catch his breath after the ascent. It still hurt to breathe deeply, but with the higher oxygen content he soon was breathing at a normal rate. His weight off the line must have been a signal to Abby as he immediately heard a scrabble as she began her second ascent. He pushed himself up on his hands and got his good leg under him. Now he was truly on the platform. He sat back against the tree and rested as his head, ankle and knee throbbed in unison once more. 

Abby quickly climbed into the tree and started arranging herself and the bags on the platform. Conner pulled his bad leg up in the tree and leaned back against the trunk.

“I think we’ll be safe here, Conner. And then, like I said, we can find Danny in the morning, ok.” Abby was trying to be reassuring.

He figured he had a mild concussion, and knew he had sprained or strained both his knee and ankle, rather than breaking something. He was most concerned with his aching ribs and back. Each deep breath was accompanied by a stab of pain, so he found himself taking shallow breaths to avoid it. He figured he had bruised or broken some ribs in his original fall, but knew little could be done about it now so he saw no need to worry Abby. As he tried to arrange his leg more comfortably a stab of pain shot through his knee and he cried out involuntarily, “Ow!”

Abby looked at him with renewed concern, “What hurts?”

He knew he could lie and say nothing, but she’d never believe it. To be specific meant she would want to try and help and they would both know exactly how badly hurt he was. “Uh, yeah…pretty much everything.”

A brief smirk brightened her face before concern darkened it again, “Close your eyes.”


End file.
